Healing my Inner Child with Re-Issued TMNT Figs

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Healing the “Inner Child” has become a popular term these days. Google says it means reconnecting with a younger version of yourself to address the childhood trauma caused by your environment during your early years. This helps in coping with the painful experiences that may have scarred us which made it challenging to regulate our emotions and connect with people and situations in our present lives. Interestingly, this concept has often been related to toy collecting. Many collectors, myself included, use the term whenever we buy items that hold nostalgic value. In my case, I was fortunate enough to not have a traumatic childhood experience though I do miss them good old days before adulting came into the picture and took over our lives.

We were never rich growing up but we enjoyed a very comfortable life. Our family never traveled abroad and we rarely traveled locally as well. No staycations either. However, my parents, especially my Mom, always treated us to toys. She often got us toys when she went out for errands. Greenhills and Harrison Plaza were our favorite spots then so the toys we got ranged from high quality stuff like Lego to random “palengke” stuff which had low quality but had amazing play value. Either way, we were kids and we didn’t care about brands. What’s important then was we had fun and we’re truly grateful to our parents for those moments.

One of the toys that made my childhood was none other than the OG 1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Playmates. My entire family spoiled me with those figs. In addition to the classic lineup, I also had the vehicles like the Party Wagon, Pizza Thrower and Turtle Blimp. Unfortunately, time was not kind and I lost my collection as I grew up. It wasn’t just my TMNT collection that disappeared but my other toys like Kenner’s The Real Ghostbusters, and the Dragon Ball Z Super Battle Collection from Bandai. I still have our Lego from back in the day though. Anyway, it’s a good thing Playmates has been releasing re-issues of these figs because I can rebuild my retro collection one piece at a time.

Last year, a members of the TMNT Philippines Facebook group offered a pre-order slot for the re-issued figs from the 1988 line. I immediately knew I had to get a set. It arrived as a boxed set featuring Leonard, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello with just the their primary weapons. That’s perfect for me. In addition to the Turtles, I also got me a copy of Splinter and Slash from our local Toys”R”Us branch at Ayala Malls Vermosa. It was rare to spot them in the wild these days so I snagged them the moment I spotted them.

Like the other TMNT pieces in my collection, I’m still undecided about opening them. Deep down, I know it’s only a matter of time before they are freed from their boxes. For now, I’m just happy to have them with me. The kid in me couldn’t be happier.